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London four-piece Great Cynics have announced a new album and have released a single. The record will be called POSI and will be released on March 24th via Specialist Subject Records.

Their debut of the single, titled Only In Memories was by no means conventional though – they played it no less than 50 times back to back on a Facebook Live video. A look-in at their style before even listening, perhaps?

Rise Records have announced they they will be releasing the upcoming third album of hardcore/punk veteran and “songwriter’s song writer” Dave Hause. The collection is titled Bury Me In Philly and is set to be released on the label on 3rd February worldwide.

Frank Turner said of Hause: “I’ve been sharing stages and singing with Dave Hause for 8 years now and he’s still teaching me things I didn’t know. A true diamond in the punk rock rough.”

With the return of the In The Spotlight feature comes an introduction to an extremely hardworking band called Within Shadows. The band originate in Canada and currently consists of Sean Farias (vocals), Jordan Heffernan (drums), Brad Tiessen (guitar) and Jacob Bailey (bass).

The Past

Sean Farias (vocals): “Within Shadows started in 2012, founded by me alone. I began this band as a solo project and I worked on songs by myself in the early days before releasing a few instrumentals in 2014. Since I had just recently left a band I was dedicated to at the time, The Culls, I wanted to keep pursuing music on my own. During that year, I met Jordan (Heffernan, drums) because we ended up working at the same workplace together. We both connected since we both have a passion for music and many bands like Slipknot and Avenged Sevenfold among others, so I invited him over to try recording some improvised sessions together. This quickly turned into an improvised EP which we called Release the Disease. Everything fell into place perfectly, and the songs basically wrote themselves since they were all on-the-spot performances. We then decided to keep the project progressing forward and became a duo officially in 2015. That summer, Jordan suggested to work with his friend Brad Tiessen (guitar), who has always been a close childhood friend. We all hit it off and then became a trio. With the EP released and being sold, we made a $500 profit from the sales and donated that money to our local food bank. The rest of the year and first half of 2016, we began working on our full length album Mind = Enemy, this time as a trio. During summer 2016, another close friend of the band named Jacob Bailey began playing bass for us. He filled the position perfectly and now has finalised the four-man band Within Shadows is now. Throughout the last 2 years of the band growing, we have held practices once a week to keep ongoing progress.”

The Present

Sean: “Within Shadows is currently putting the finishing touches on our upcoming album and to get ready for the release. The album will consist of 11 new songs and 4 remakes of our EP songs. We have just filmed our very first music video for a new song called Get Up, which will be the lead single to begin our new era. We have also had band photos done by Zeebrahmedia recently. We are currently planning out showing bookings and getting our name spread more throughout the media in preparation for the album.”

The Future

Sean: “We have have aspirations to take Within Shadows as far as we can go in the music industry, as any band does. We are working hard every day towards the possibility of being able to join a record label and doing music as a full-time job. Touring and releasing more music is a dream of ours that we are very much determined to make a reality. We plan on releasing more music videos in the coming year, playing a lot of shows and sending our new tunes out to radio stations and labels.

If you interested in new unsigned bands and hearing new music, please check out our band. Any form of support is greatly appreciated and helps us progress further to achieve our dream of doing this for a living. From every share follow, listen to post likes, we are so thankful and will keep producing more content in return, not to mention the fact that we love interacting with our fans. You can message us anytime on any of the platforms we have and we will respond to you. We are always here, and supportive people like you all are the reason why we enjoy doing what we do so much!

The posts may be a teaser that the follow-up to 2015’s Just Like You is just around the corner, but who knows? All we can do is just keep enjoying that album so here’s the first single from that album, God, If You Are Above…

Due to Chrissy Costanza’s condition following an extensive and intense tour schedule, Against The Current have had to reschedule tonight’s show in Birmingham. The show was set to be the penultimate date on the In Our Bones World Tour.

I don't know what else to say other than I'm so sorry Birmingham and I'll be in my bunk beating myself up over it for the rest of the day.

Hey everyone, unfortunately tonight’s Birmingham show won’t be going ahead due to illness. We have been looking forward to these shows for so long and don’t want to put them at risk, the only safe solution is to reschedule this show to Monday 3rd October.

Anyone who has tickets and can’t make the new date, as well as people who have tickets and can make the new date, stand by for more info. We are working with the promoters and venue to get that for you.

VIP will also be honored under the same terms.

Stay tuned, and we look forward to seeing you on Monday!

ATC

If this change affects you, keep up to date with Against The Current on Facebook and Twitter to hear the details of the show rescheduling. In the meantime though, have a look a track on their setlist this tour:

Opening up the bill for Against The Current‘s In Our Bones date were Beach Weather, a band who formed last year under the guidance of The Maine by ex-A Rocket To The Moon frontman Nick Santino. Their indie/shabby-chic styling got them huge cheers as they arrived onstage – not to mention a couple of wolf whistles – and they proceeded to play material both from their first EP and upcoming EP Chit Chat, which is set for a 14th October release. Their tunes are incredibly funky and soon came the crowd interaction, despite not many knowing the words to the songs. Nick at one point even instructed the crowd to become acquainted with the people surrounding them to then “sexy dance” to their last track. All in all, a good show and proof that Beach Weather could be one of the up-and-coming bands of the moment. [6/10]

Frontman Nick Santino

Next up were Brighton’s finest As It Is, fresh from a video shoot earlier in the day. The band opened with Cheap Shots & Setbacks which set the tone fantastically for the rest of the set, but only after a recorded intro that set out the concept for their new record and referenced it directly. They had the usual energy onstage, yet seemed to be revitalised by this new era coming up and finally being revealed to the fans waiting and this new era got a run out with Okay making its London live debut for the Empire crowd. Needless to say, the band were shocked at the sheer volume of the lyrics coming bouncing back at them. The single had only been released for 8 days yet the crowd were fully into the vibe and getting to grips with how it was being played live, to their benefit. The crowd interaction throughout was creating an electric atmosphere for Against The Current, but overall it was just a pretty usual set for them with little change, though undeniably good quality as always. [8/10]

As It Is showing off their new 50s aesthetic

Against The Current came out to the biggest cheer of the night to that point, and swiftly burst into a rendition of Runaway that was almost record-perfect which is no mean feat on any tour, let alone one so extensive and draining as In Our Bones has been so far. It soon became apparent however that Chrissy Costanza was not having much fun with her voice being overly painful as she belted out the lyrics, and at one point even admitted to the crowd she was sorry for her tone and performance. In spite of this, the band ripped through hits from not only In Our Bones but early material as well, including a rendition of Infinity in the little acoustic mini-set alongside the tour title track.

A beautiful moment of dedicating Roses to a friend that has recently passed away got the crowd fully on the band’s side whether they were or not already, and Blood Like Gasoline and Running With The Wild Things got some of the best reception of the night. However, it’s fair to say that the biggest singalong of the night (perhaps with the exception of Chasing Ghosts where the band brought a minimal sound to allow for the most crowd interaction) was with their recent My Chemical Romance cover of Teenagers. Everyone in the room was completely belting it out at the top of their lungs including parents who had accompanied their children to the show, and the result was something astonishing.

Guitarist Dan Gow

Sadly, the Against The Current set had to be cut short, with the removal of Brighter and Another You (Another Way) from the setlist due to Chrissy’s condition but the crowd seemed to only be more and more appreciative for what they had just witnessed before they came back on for an encore of Gravity to round off a triumphant set.

A special mention has to go to drummer Will Ferri for his sheer volume of percussion on display in the set and his absolute mastery of all of it. From his massive kit on the pedestal centre stage to his microphoned acoustic kick box, he worked it all with absolute class as brother Mike (drummer of We Are The In Crowd) watched on from the stands.

The night was best described in a tweet by Chrissy herself, with photos of the crowds at their first London show to last night (see below) and it is clear to see just how much headway Against The Current have made. Their pop rock anthems have made their way onto the airwaves and charts, and it doesn’t look like they’ll be stopping any time soon. [8/10]

Basic Info

Alex: “I’d say our main image influences at the moment are Milk Teeth, Allusondrugs, and we love all the projects Frank Carter has done through his time so the whole hardcore unpredictability thing is something we play on a lot. Musically though, we take Citizen and Basement as our main inspirations and it’s a nice blend with our grunge feel”

Tom: “We pretty much cover anything we like on stage, normally we don’t even know until about two minutes beforehand what we’ll be playing [laughs]. Recently we’ve played Nirvana, Frank Carter and Gallows covers which were our best but we’ve had a couple of s*** ones too [all laugh]”

Alex: “The name actually comes from Nirvana’s first single of the same name, and it’s one of our favourite songs as a band. It was the start of something huge and we were hoping we would go the same way, though hopefully not with the way things ended but who knows [laughs].”

The Past

Alex: “Tim, Lloyd and I were in another band before this but we pretty much knew it was falling apart at the seams, so we asked Tom to come and join us for a new project and we needed a bassist, and Tom’s last band was melting down too so he brought Luke with him and here we are.”

Luke: “Our first show was a bit crazy really. We didn’t have much of a plan because we hadn’t been together long so we went into the loo to learn the set and Alex had a minor meltdown [laughs]. We’d written a couple of our own songs before the show but we more or less rewrote them as we played them onstage and they evolved into what they are now.”

Tom: “We’ve played six shows in total: four at The Swan in Berkhamsted including our single release show for Sallowed, one at The Horn in St Albans and one at the Pioneer Youth Club in St Albans too.”

Alex standing on a sofa in The Swan, Berkhamsted, screaming Gallows’ In The Belly Of A Shark

The Present

Alex: “Our debut EP is coming out at some point, we don’t even have a name for it yet. It’s five songs long and the first single Sallowed came out on Friday [27th May] so the next steps are to decide a title for it and get it out. [Interviewer James suggests calling the EP Self-Titled] Yes, I like that! Kind of a joke about the way every band runs out of ideas so makes a self-titled album.”

Tom: “The EP was actually recorded at the studio in the XC centre in Hemel Hempstead and was produced by yours truly [laughs]. I was actually taught to do production and stuff by Steph Carter from Gallows so I’m pretty happy doing it in general. It comes with a slowing of the process for vocals and my guitar though but I’ll be redoing vocals soon, and then the mixing needs doing before we get it out then it’ll be hitting the web around late June/July time.”

Tim: “For the moment though, we’re just looking for more shows because we haven’t actually been paid for one yet so we need to start doing that as soon as we can!”

The Future

Tom: “Obviously we’ll be playing shows if we can actually get some booked but we haven’t got any specific plans except more slots in The Swan that they’ve offered us for the future. Then recording-wise, we’re looking at a full album late this year or early next year for sure [the rest of the band look at him shocked]. Well, we have to make plans at some point so now is as good a time as any!”

If your band/solo project would be interested in an In The Spotlight feature on Musicology, chuck an email over to our editor Lauren at lauren@musicology.uk.com for all the details!

Kathryn: “I can’t remember where the name “Fresh” comes from. We’ve stuck with it because it’s an obvious kind of band name, so it stays with you. Plus, it’s fun to say “hey, we’re fresh” on stage. We all live in London, but only I’m from there. James is from Kent, Dan is from Essex and George is originally from near Bristol. We’re inspired by feminism and friendship so that’s also hopefully what people think of when they listen to [our songs] and see us. I want people to think of us as an inclusive band that write honest songs which are fun to sing along to.”

The Past

Kathryn: “I played bass in a band with James that didn’t work out, so we started Fresh up as a two-piece. We had another bassist and drummer before Dan and George but both of them couldn’t tour for various reasons. I met Dan and George at a Power Lunches show. They play in a band call Sad Blood and we were supporting them. I thought they were amazing. We planned a Sad Blood and Fresh weekender for January and, because our bassist and drummer at the time couldn’t travel, Dan and George offered to do double duty and learn the songs for the three shows.

That weekend was so amazing and we all clicked so well that they joined the band! It was a no-brainer. They’re perfect for Fresh as musicians and they’re the kind of people that you can spend long amounts of time with and not hate, which is important.

Besides that weekender, we just finished four dates in the south west with a really great band called Murderhouse. They’re the only two “tours” we’ve done (if you can call them that) but we often drive to nearby cities like Brighton and Southampton for standalone shows.”

The Present

Kathryn: “The most pressing thing for Fresh right now is to get writing and recording. Our last release was an EP in November so it’s probably about time.”

The Future

“We have a couple of tours tentatively planned later this summer that’ll be fun if they work out. Other than writing a really good release, we want to do longer shows and branch out a bit. We’ve never played up north, and we’ve never left the UK. I’d love to go to Ireland, and eventually I’d also be well up for Europe. In the grand scope of my life, I’d like to play music and not have to hold down a job. I’m not the “job” type. I can confidently speak for all of us and say that we just want good times and good shows from this band. There’s nothing funner than playing a good set with bands you like. That’s what it’s all about.”

Huge thanks to Kathryn and the others in Fresh for this interview, and High Tides Photography for the pics.

The long awaited follow-up to 2012’s Collide With The Sky is here in the form of Misadventures and this time Pierce The Veil are back with a vengance and a list of points to prove.

The first taste of the album released back in summer last year was The Divine Zero, which PTV dropped with no real announcement or teasing at all as they went off on their headlining Warped Tour for the whole of the journey. This track got a good reception in general and people had huge faith in the new efforts in the band for what was to come. The song has turned out to be the most Collide-esque track on the whole record and would have fit immaculately into its tracklist with its fierce breakdown and huge amount of screamed vocals and it makes for a fantastic track in general.

The record as a whole features fewer screams than anticipated by many fans, but shows off Vic’s vocal range and Tony’s guitar solos to make up for it. Many of the lines throughout the tracks are backed up with a lead guitar harmony instead of the more common method of backing vocals adopted by most bands, most notably on Floral and Fading.

Elsewhere in the album, there are fewer breakdowns which leads to a few more emotive tracks (moved from the likes of Hell Above and King for a Day from the previous release to Song For Isabelle and Floral & Fading on this), though there is a pretty heavy track in Phantom Power and Ludicrous Speed and a screamed breakdown in Sambuka, plus the odd moment here and there which together almost make up for the sparser dusting of heaviness throughout the other tracks.

In terms of the drumming, Mike has kept up the tradition of sharp, technical drumming on a huge kit which brings an extra depth to all of the tracks as he crafts the perfect mood with cymbals and kicks in the heavier and angrier parts and toms in the more melodic, vocal numbers like Song For Isabelle; his ability to create a tenderness through hitting things is rare amongst the drumming community nowadays.

Standout tracks are The Divine Zero for being the most PTV-esque track on the record, Phantom Power and Ludicrous Speed for the fun of it and Sambuka for the breakdown which is technical guitar-wise and a great mosh point of the record.

Overall, Misadventures seems a bit safe for the band; there are few brutal moments but the sheer emotion of most of the tracks makes up for it with ease. Considering Tony’s accident during the writing/recording process just before Warped Tour last year, the record has come out immaculately and it will be interesting to see how it fares in the charts!